MAGA Melts Down at ‘Moron’ Bondi Over ‘Hate Speech’ Crackdown After Kirk’s Assassination

MAGA leaders turned on Attorney General Pam Bondi after she promised to crack down on “hate speech” following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Her position immediately clashed with what Kirk himself had long argued about free expression.

In a recent interview, Bondi said the Justice Department would begin investigating hate speech. “There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech,” she said. “There is no place for hate speech in our society, especially after what happened to Charlie. We will absolutely target you if you are targeting others with hate speech.”

Those words stood in direct opposition to Kirk’s own views. He had repeatedly warned against giving the government the power to decide what counts as hate.

Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech.

And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment.

Keep America free.

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 3, 2024

Kirk often called himself a “free speech absolutist.” In one video that spread widely online, he told an audience, “Even hate speech should be allowed in this country. The most disgusting speech should still be protected. As soon as you use the word hate, it becomes subjective, and then it depends on who has the power.”

The pushback against Bondi from conservatives was swift. Radio host Erick Erickson wrote on X, “Our Attorney General is apparently a moron. ‘There’s free speech and then there is hate speech.’ No ma’am. That is not the law.”

Our Attorney General is apparently a moron.

“There’s free speech and then there is hate speech.”

No ma’am. That is not the law. https://t.co/trY3zDv93X

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) September 16, 2025

Fox News analyst Brit Hume added that “someone needs to explain to Ms. Bondi that so-called hate speech, repulsive though it may be, is protected by the First Amendment. She should know this.”

Commentator Auron MacIntyre called Bondi’s framing “the worst possible” way to justify action against terrorist networks. He warned that the clip would be used by opponents across the political spectrum. Influencer Matt Walsh also joined in, saying, “There is no law against saying hateful things, and there shouldn’t be.”

Bondi made her remarks during a podcast with former Trump aide Katie Miller. The conversation came just days after Kirk was killed on September 10 at Utah Valley University.

The Trump administration has described Kirk’s murder as a left-wing attack on American values. Investigators, however, have not confirmed a motive for the suspect, Tyler Robinson. In the aftermath, several professors and public employees who mocked Kirk online have been investigated or fired. Civil liberties groups warn that punishing such speech sets a dangerous precedent.

While Bondi vowed to pursue hate speech cases, another Trump ally, Peter Navarro, demanded Elon Musk ban anonymous and foreign accounts from X. That idea collides directly with the free-speech absolutism that Kirk and many conservatives defended.

Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and close Trump ally, was confirmed by the Senate in February to lead the Justice Department.